In one Indian city, reflective paint and bus stop sprinklers offer relief from killer heat
AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — For 20-year-old Mayank Yadav, riding a crowded bus in the summer months in this western Indian city can be like sitting in an oven. That makes it a treat when he steps off and into a bus stop outfitted with sprinklers that bathe overheated commuters in a cooling mist.
'Everyone is suffering from the heat,' Yadav said. 'I hope they do more of this across the city.'
Rising heat is a problem for millions of people in India. In Ahmedabad, temperatures this year have already reached 42 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit), a level usually not seen for several more weeks, prompting city officials to advise people to stay indoors and stay hydrated.
And yet, coping with that heat is a familiar challenge in Ahmedabad. After a 2010 heat wave killed more than 1,300 people, city and health officials rushed to develop South Asia's first heat action plan.
The plan, rolled out in 2013 and now replicated across India and South Asia, includes strategies for hospitals, government officials and citizens to react immediately when temperatures rise beyond human tolerance. Public health officials said it's helped save hundreds of lives every summer.
City officials, with help from climate and health researchers, have implemented two simple yet effective solutions to help those affected most by heat: the poor and those who work outdoors. By painting tin-roofed households with reflective paint, they've reduced indoor temperatures, which otherwise might be up to 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than outside. More recently, the city hung curtains woven of straw and water sprinklers at one bus stop so commuters can get relief from the sun and heat. Officials said they plan to expand the idea to other bus stops in the city.
Residents said both measures have been a relief even as they brace for at least three more months of sweltering summer.
A simple coat of paint makes all the difference
Throughout the city's low-income neighborhoods, hundreds of tin-roofed homes have been painted with reflective paint that helps keep the indoors cooler. Residents said their houses were so hot before the roofs were painted that they would spend most of their time outdoors under any shade they could find.
'Earlier, it was really difficult to sleep inside the house,' said Akashbhai Thakor, who works as a delivery van driver and lives with his wife and three-month-old child in Ahmedabad. Thakor's roof was painted as part of a research project that is trying to measure the impact of the so-called cool roofs.
Early results have been promising. 'After the roof was painted, the house is much cooler, especially at night,' said Thakor.
People like Thakor are much more vulnerable to extreme heat because their houses aren't insulated and, since most of them depend on a daily wage, they must work regardless of the weather, said Priya Bhavsar of the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, who is working on the project. Bhavsar said low-cost solutions could be the only respite for thousands of people in the city who can't afford to buy an air conditioner.
Veer Vanzara, who lives in the same area as Thakor and works in a nearby garment factory, said the heat makes his job much worse, especially since his factory has no ventilation. So his family is grateful for the cool roofs. 'The evenings and night are much cooler than before inside our house,' he said.
A bus stop that's become an oasis from the heat
In Ahmedabad's city center, a 25-meter stretch of a bus stop has been draped with mats made of straw which, when sprinkled with water, immediately cool the hot wind. Sprinklers installed on the bus stop roof lightly spray cool water on the commuters below, providing instant relief from the blazing heat just a step away.
'When nothing like this was here, it was really hot. What they've done is really good. Senior citizens like me can get some cooling from the heat,' said 77-year-old Ratilal Bhoire, who was waiting under the sprinklers with his daughter. Bhoire said when he was younger, Ahmedabad was hot, but it was still possible to walk many kilometers without feeling dizzy, even at the height of summer. 'Nowadays you can't do that,' he said.
Heat is the city's biggest problem and heat waves — continuous days of extreme heat — are increasing, said Dr. Tejas Shah of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, who oversees the city's heat action plan. 'We are in the period of climate change, and it has already shown its effect,' said Shah.
Shah and other city officials said the onset of summer has become a testing time and efforts such as cool roofs and cool bus stops are reducing heat-related illness and deaths. As climate projections predict only hotter and longer summers for his city, Shah said being prepared is the only thing to do.
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
'It (the heat) needs to be addressed in the proper way,' he said.
___
Follow Sibi Arasu on X at @sibi123
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
26 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
A typhoon landed in China's Hainan island at a severe tropical storm level
BEIJING (AP) — A typhoon changed its path and landed in southern China's Hainan island at late night Friday. Typhoon Wutip, landed in Basuo township at a severe tropical storm level in the city of Dongfang in Hainan province, according to Hainan Meteorological Service. Its maximum sustained winds is 30 meters (98 feet) per second. This is the second time in 70 years the island has the country's first typhoon in the year. Typhoon Wutip was forecasted to make landfall around noon Saturday on the Chinese mainland near the border between Guangdong province and the Guangxi region. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Authorities in Guangdong province evacuated more than 10,000 people, closed schools and canceled flights, trains and vessels Friday. It is unclear if Typhoon Wutip has caused any deaths or injuries. Photos posted by a Chinese news outlet showed toppled trees and a strewn corrugated metal fence at a construction site in the city of Sanya, a popular beach resort on Hainan. All schools, construction sites and tourist attractions in Sanya were closed and flights were suspended at the city's airport, the official Xinhua News Agency said. A dozen crew members were rescued Thursday night from a cargo ship that called for help, Xinhua said. The crew were transferred to a rescue vessel in rough seas with 3-meter (10-foot) waves. Typhoon Wutip had maximum sustained winds of 119 kilometers (74 miles) per hour before it landed. Guangdong activated rescue boats and helicopters, and more than 49,000 fishing boats returned to port, Xinhua said. The provincial meteorological agency forecast heavy rain and said tornadoes were possible. Wutip means 'butterfly' in Cantonese, which is spoken in Macao. Countries and the Chinese regions of Hong Kong and Macao contribute the names for storms during the typhoon season. The last time the island had the country's first typhoon landfall was in 2008 with Typhoon Neoguri. Neoguri means 'raccoon' in Korean.
Toronto Star
5 hours ago
- Toronto Star
The National Weather Service issues Alaska's first ever heat advisory
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — For the first time ever, parts of Alaska will be under a heat advisory — but you can put an asterisk at the end of that term. It's not the first instance of unusually high temperatures in what many consider the nation's coldest state, but the National Weather Service only recently allowed for heat advisories to be issued there. Information on similarly warm weather conditions previously came in the form of 'special weather statements.' Using the heat advisory label could help people better understand the weather's severity and potential danger, something a nondescript 'special weather statement' didn't convey. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The first advisory is for Sunday in Fairbanks, where temperatures are expected to top 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius). Fairbanks has has been warmer in the past, but this is unusual for June, officials said. Here's what to know about Alaska's inaugural heat advisory: Why it's the first The National Weather Service's switch from special weather statements to advisories was meant to change how the public views the information. 'This is an important statement, and the public needs to know that there will be increasing temperatures, and they could be dangerous because Alaska is not used to high temperatures like these,' said Alekya Srinivasan, a Fairbanks-based meteorologist. 'We want to make sure that we have the correct wording and the correct communication when we're telling people that it will be really hot this weekend,' she said. Not unprecedented and not climate change The change doesn't reflect unprecedented temperatures, with Fairbanks having reached 90 degrees twice in 2024, Srinivasan said. It's purely an administrative change by the weather service. 'It's not that the heat in the interior that prompted Fairbanks to issue this is record heat or anything like that. It's just now there's a product to issue,' said Rich Thoman, a climate specialist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Thoman also clarified that the term swap doesn't have anything to do with climate change. 'I think some of it is related to the recognition that hot weather does have an impact on Alaska, and in the interior especially,' Thoman said. Little air conditioning While the temperatures in the forecast wouldn't be considered extreme in other U.S. states, Thoman noted that most Alaska buildings don't have air conditioning. 'And just the opposite, most buildings in Alaska are designed to retain heat for most of the year,' he said. People can open their windows to allow cooler air in during early morning hours — if wildfires aren't burning in blaze-prone state. But if it's smoky and the windows have to remain shut, buildings can heat up very rapidly. 'Last year was the third year in a row in Fairbanks with more than a hundred hours of visibility-reducing smoke, the first time we've ever had three consecutive years over a hundred hours,' he said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW There's only been two summers in Fairbanks in the 21st century with no hours of smoke that reduced visibility, a situation he said was commonplace from the 1950s to the 1970s. What about Anchorage? The Juneau and Fairbanks weather service offices have been allowed to issue heat advisories beginning this summer, but not the office in the state's largest city of Anchorage — at least not yet. And, regardless, temperatures in the area haven't reached the threshold this year at which a heat advisory would be issued. Brian Brettschneider, a climate scientist with the weather service, said by email that the Anchorage office is working on a plan to issue such advisories in the future.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
The National Weather Service issues Alaska's first ever heat advisory
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — For the first time ever, parts of Alaska will be under a heat advisory — but you can put an asterisk at the end of that term. It's not the first instance of unusually high temperatures in what many consider the nation's coldest state, but the National Weather Service only recently allowed for heat advisories to be issued there. Information on similarly warm weather conditions previously came in the form of 'special weather statements.' Using the heat advisory label could help people better understand the weather's severity and potential danger, something a nondescript 'special weather statement' didn't convey. The first advisory is for Sunday in Fairbanks, where temperatures are expected to top 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius). Fairbanks has has been warmer in the past, but this is unusual for June, officials said. Here's what to know about Alaska's inaugural heat advisory: Why it's the first The National Weather Service's switch from special weather statements to advisories was meant to change how the public views the information. 'This is an important statement, and the public needs to know that there will be increasing temperatures, and they could be dangerous because Alaska is not used to high temperatures like these,' said Alekya Srinivasan, a Fairbanks-based meteorologist. 'We want to make sure that we have the correct wording and the correct communication when we're telling people that it will be really hot this weekend,' she said. Not unprecedented and not climate change The change doesn't reflect unprecedented temperatures, with Fairbanks having reached 90 degrees twice in 2024, Srinivasan said. It's purely an administrative change by the weather service. 'It's not that the heat in the interior that prompted Fairbanks to issue this is record heat or anything like that. It's just now there's a product to issue,' said Rich Thoman, a climate specialist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy. Thoman also clarified that the term swap doesn't have anything to do with climate change. 'I think some of it is related to the recognition that hot weather does have an impact on Alaska, and in the interior especially,' Thoman said. Little air conditioning While the temperatures in the forecast wouldn't be considered extreme in other U.S. states, Thoman noted that most Alaska buildings don't have air conditioning. 'And just the opposite, most buildings in Alaska are designed to retain heat for most of the year,' he said. People can open their windows to allow cooler air in during early morning hours — if wildfires aren't burning in blaze-prone state. But if it's smoky and the windows have to remain shut, buildings can heat up very rapidly. 'Last year was the third year in a row in Fairbanks with more than a hundred hours of visibility-reducing smoke, the first time we've ever had three consecutive years over a hundred hours,' he said. There's only been two summers in Fairbanks in the 21st century with no hours of smoke that reduced visibility, a situation he said was commonplace from the 1950s to the 1970s. What about Anchorage? The Juneau and Fairbanks weather service offices have been allowed to issue heat advisories beginning this summer, but not the office in the state's largest city of Anchorage — at least not yet. And, regardless, temperatures in the area haven't reached the threshold this year at which a heat advisory would be issued. Brian Brettschneider, a climate scientist with the weather service, said by email that the Anchorage office is working on a plan to issue such advisories in the future.
